Malala at CU 勒貊勛圖: Teachers and students share their takeaways.
The Center for Asian Studies co-sponsored Malala Yousafzais visit to CU 勒貊勛圖 for the Conference on World Affairs in April. Teachers who participated in CASs South, Southeast, and West Asia (SSEWA) Outreach Programs professional development workshop on Afghanistan were invited to bring their students to an exclusive livestream event at the Limelight Hotel in 勒貊勛圖.
Today, were featuring reflections from two 勒貊勛圖 high school teachers who attended with their students.
Fairview High School
On Thursday, April 16, roughly 30 Fairview High School students and staff had the great fortune to attend an overflow event at the Limelight Hotel in 勒貊勛圖 to hear Malala Yousafzais Conference on World Affairs closing talk.泭
It was incredible. The youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Malala talked about advocating for girls education, building schools around the world, and standing up for what you believe in, all in a clear, relatable, and inspiring way.泭 She also shared her love of weightlifting, wearing jeans, and her experience balancing an active social life with the academic demands of studying at Oxford University.
Many Fairview students in attendance said that seeing Malala live was a dream come true. They described Malala as their personal hero and the reason they are activists.泭 Ninth-grader Cressa Stricklan said, Her message has inspired me to take more action on issues that I see.泭 Senior Elleanna Voran reflected that it was really poignant when [Malala] said its not about a leader but about the cause that the leaders bringing people together for.泭 Elleanna also appreciated Malalas reminder that solving problems takes hard work and persistence, and you must keep working and keep trying.泭
Ninth grader Aspen Corff, who grew up in Australia, recalled that Malala features prominently in the Australian primary school curriculum.泭Aspen appreciated that the lessons Malala learned about balancing social and academic life in college also apply to high schoolers.泭 You can feel very isolated in trying to evoke change, Aspen noted, but we need to push forward and express our ideas in a louder and bolder way.泭
Meanwhile, junior Domenica Plaza Homiston said that she genuinely teared up listening to Malala speak. Hearing someone like Malala describe the same identity crisis I experienced was incredibly refreshing. I am Chilean-American, and I am so proud of my Latino heritage, yet I have felt so out of place recently.泭 Hearing a similar experience from Malala's life at Oxford felt so beautiful, and to be able to relate to someone so central to advocacy at that level.泭 I left feeling with no doubts about who I am, because there is no should be.泭
Everyone in our group received a free copy of Malalas new book, Finding My Way.泭It felt as if she were personally thinking about us watching from the overflow event.泭 The evening was just so fantastic and inspiring, and we were all quite moved!
Vanessa Carroll
Grad+ Site Lead, Graduation Specialist, and Gifted and Talented Advisor
Fairview High School
勒貊勛圖 High School
We want to thank the Center for Asian Studies for inviting our group from 勒貊勛圖 High School to the livestream of Malalas keynote. Fifteen students came and were really inspired by Malalas words!
We liked the back-and-forth interview style versus having Malala speak for an hour straight. It kept us engaged and made Malala seem more like a real person instead of a talking head. We loved how down-to-earth and open Malala was, with no pretensions. In fact, we liked how she addressed how hard it is to be normal when you have celebrity status. We especially loved her message of how simple youth activism may seem, but how complicated it can get.泭
Malalas story about wearing jeans also served as an important reminder that we, as teachers, should not engage in stereotypes even from famous spokespeople from a region and religion.泭
It was a great evening to get to know this more personal side of Malala, a young woman who, despite being a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has faced many of the same challenges of growing up as anyone else.泭
Here is a photo of my students showing off their copies of Malalas memoir. They were so excited to get a free book!
Roberta Spray
Teacher of Social Studies
Model UN Advisor
勒貊勛圖 High School
